San Francisco 49ers legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice isn’t happy with how the team has been using some of its best players.
Late in the second quarter of Sunday’s home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Samuel suffered a knee injury while running the ball up the middle. Samuel attempted to walk off on the field, but he ultimately had to be carted away.
Samuel’s injury is the latest blow to a 49ers offense that also lost starting quarterback Trey Lance (ankle fracture) and (most likely) backup Jimmy Garoppolo for the year (foot). After Samuel’s injury, Rice took to Instagram and asked the 49ers “stop running our skill player up the middle.”
The 49ers later announced that Samuel was out for the game with an ankle injury. We’ll have to wait and see what head coach Kyle Shanahan and company have to say after the game.
Before the injury, Samuel was having a productive day on the ground. He rushed for 21 yards and a touchdown on four carries while also hauling in four receptions for 43 yards. Needless to say, Samuel and company sure helped Brock Purdy’s first career start go as smoothly as possible.
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The 2019 second-round draft pick had a career year for San Francisco last season, racking up 77 catches for 1,405 yards and six touchdowns. He was also a game-wrecker on the ground, racking up 365 yards and eight touchdown.
Samuel was instrumental in helping the 49ers reach the NFC Championship Game last season. Losing him long-term would be a tough blow to absorb, but we’ll just have to wait and see what Shanahan has to say after the game.
